The Art of Humorous Horror.

Good evening all!

So, two of my favorite horror writers are Stephen King, and Dean Koontz.  One of the reasons I love them both so much is their ability to, at just the right moment, inject humor into a perfectly horrific situation.

An example of this comes from  Dean Koontz's Odd Thomas:  A cow explodes in a splashing, gory, mess, and the udder lands upside down on a fence post.  Within the context of the scene, this is awful, and hysterical.  I almost felt guilty for being amused by the visual.  And yet it was so perfect.

I mention all of this because this week's winners both have that element of a humorous twist in them.  The Tome and I found them both terrifically entertaining.  I believe that book actually chuckled.  At least I THINK that's what that sound was.  I'm still not certain.

Anyway, let's get to it, shall we?

In first place this week is Paul Richardson with Demonic Eye For The Straight Guy:  First of all, the play on the title is hysterical.  The character of Mestrious is perfectly realized and I really like your use of the prompts.  Thank you!

And in second place is Zaiure with Prize:  It was wonderful to see a strong female character with a mercenary attitude who remains likable.  I'd love to see more of Anora in the future.  Thank you!

And now, The Tome has offered new words.

Foxglove
Tableau
Garish

The usual rules apply: 100 words maximum, excluding the title, of flash fiction or poetry using all of the three words above in the genres of horror, fantasy, science fiction or noir. All variants and use of the words as stems are fine.

You have until 11:30 PM EST on Thursday, October 31st, to get your entries in..  Winners will be announced and new words will be posted by 11:30 PM on Friday, November 1st.

The Gates Are Open my friends.  Take what the Tome has offered and craft your nightmares into reality!

I swear it's possessed.

Good morning!  My apologies.  This is my sixth attempt at posting winners and words.  Hopefully it'll go through this time.  As the title says, I swear my computer is possessed.  It's quite old and sometimes just refuses to do things, like work.

Any rate, let me get right to it as I'm so abysmally late with this.

This week's winner is John Xero with his continuation of (rise):  John, as always, the Steampunk feel of this is totally engrossing.  I've read it about a dozen times now.  This week's prompts seem a perfect fit and you wove them in beautifully.  Thank you!

And in second place is RRKovar with The Greater Depression:  This whole thing just feels grey and laced with grim determination and hopelessness.  It's a wonderful read.  I find myself hoping you'll actually favor us with more of this.  Thank you!

I also must give Honorable Mention to Antonia Woodville with her continuation of the Captain's Story.  Antonia, the Captain never ceases to intrigue.  I love where you're taking this and I'm honored to be along for the ride.  Thank you!

And now, the poor Tome, who has been given a slight case of indigestion by my not being able to post, has given us new words.

Drab
Unbecoming
Gestation

The usual rules apply: 100 words maximum, excluding the title, of flash fiction or poetry using all of the three words above in the genres of horror, fantasy, science fiction or noir. All variants and use of the words as stems are fine.

You have until 11:30 PM EST on Thursday, October 24th, to get your entries in..  Winners will be announced and new words will be posted by 11:30 PM on Friday, October 25th, barring any further computer issues.  Again, my apologies for the random timing of my posts.

The Gates Are Open my friends.  Take what the Tome has offered and craft your nightmares into reality!

New words, new inspirations.

Good evening!

I can't tell you how much fun I've had reading your submissions this week.  There is a part of me that is always filled with such excitement when it comes time to announce winners.  Admittedly, there is also a part of me that dreads, just a tiny bit, the process of doing so.  It's because the stories, whether submitted by our small core of regulars, or those who come to visit and play only occasionally, are just so damned good.  Mind you, I'm an adventurous sort of girl and I love a challenge, so it's still great fun.

It never ceases to amaze me, the sheer joy that I get from reading a well crafted piece of dark fiction.  You are all very good at that, so I'm often quite happy, and I thank you.

This week's winner is Lee Hughes with Bad Bric-a-Brac:  I can add you, Lee, to the list of folks here who are just amazing with dialogue.  I loved the natural feel of it.  Also, the last line made me shiver and giggle at the same time.  This is a truly fine piece of writing.  Thank you!

Our runner-up this week is Asuqi with Emancipation:  I love the fairy tale feel of this.  "I ruined my hands digging through mud." is my favorite line.  It smacks of determination and faith to me.  The way you've used the prompts feels totally natural.  I find myself wondering if there will be more to this.  Thank you!

And with that, the Tome has brought forth new words for us!

Framework
Snake
Astride

The usual rules apply: 100 words maximum, excluding the title, of flash fiction or poetry using all of the three words above in the genres of horror, fantasy, science fiction or noir. All variants and use of the words as stems are fine.

You have until 11:30 PM EST on Thursday, October 17th, to get your entries in..  Winners will be announced and new words will be posted by 11:30 PM on Friday, October 18/th!

The Gates Are Open my friends.  Take what the Tome has offered and craft your nightmares into reality!
I look forward to your return.

In a Hurry

*Dashes in, tosses purse on table.  Grabs up a squealing tome, places it in my lap, and begins to type*

Good evening, all!

Yep, a bit late again.  I knew there was something I should have been doing last night when I was sitting on the hood of my truck in a Dunkin' Donuts parking lot, staring at the moon!  My apologies.

I'll get right to it then.  Our winners this week are:

Zaiure with Plain View:  I have always loved the notion of hiding things in plain sight.  I hope you plan on doing more with this. I really want to know what's inside.  Nice use of the prompts.  Thank you.

RRKovar with In Deep:  You have given us an inkling into the things that really make Seth tweaky here, and I love it.  It seems rare that you let us peek that deeply into his psyche.  Also, I love the way you used the prompts and you gave me the perfect set up.  Thank you!


Didn't have time to make bacon this week, so the Tome has made do with a bit of leftover Chinese, and has provided new words.

Curio
Inherit
Temerity

The usual rules apply: 100 words maximum, excluding the title, of flash fiction or poetry using all of the three words above in the genres of horror, fantasy, science fiction or noir. All variants and use of the words as stems are fine.

You have until 11:30 PM EST on Thursday, October 10th, to get your entries in..  Winners will be announced and new words will be posted by 11:30 PM on Friday, October 11th!

And with that...The Gates Are Open!